Article
Environmental Sciences
Tetsu K. Tokunaga, Ahn Phuong Tran, Jiamin Wan, Wenming Dong, Alexander W. Newman, Curtis A. Beutler, Wendy Brown, Amanda N. Henderson, Kenneth H. Williams
Summary: Quantifying flow and transport from hillslopes is crucial for understanding water quantity and quality in rivers, but the limited subsurface measurements make it not clear enough. Optimizing subsurface flux predictions and pore water chemistry profiles over multiple years can predict the time-dependent rates of solute exports from hillslopes.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Simone Di Prima, Gersende Fernandes, Elisa Marras, Filippo Giadrossich, Ryan D. Stewart, Majdi R. Abou Najm, Thierry Winiarski, Brice Mourier, Rafael Angulo-Jaramillo, Alessandro Comegna, Antonio del Campo, Laurent Lassabatere
Summary: This paper investigates the role of stemflow infiltration in subsurface water flow dynamics in sloping catchments. The study utilized artificial experiments and ground-penetrating radar to examine preferential flow paths and hydrological connectivity on a forested hillslope in a Mediterranean forest. The findings highlight the role of stemflow in the formation of lateral preferential flow networks and provide insights into the magnitude of stem-induced flow paths. The applied protocol offers a simple and non-invasive approach to understanding hillslope responses to rainstorms.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
M. Ranjram, J. R. Craig
Summary: The subsurface flow contribution to a basin hydrograph is often conceptualized as a single reservoir, but this study suggests that basins may be better represented as multiple independent subsurface hillslope reservoirs. In this work, upscaling relationships are derived to convert simple metrics of basin hillslope topography into a signature basin response characterizing the subsurface flow-induced recession. The efficacy of the upscaled signature response in replicating numerical simulations and predicting transient recession is demonstrated.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chunfeng Chen, Xin Zou, Ashutosh Kumar Singh, Xiai Zhu, Wanjun Zhang, Bin Yang, Xiaojin Jiang, Wenjie Liu
Summary: The study found that soil physical properties decreased with elevation from the hilltop to the valley bottom, while water infiltration capacity showed the opposite trend. Preferential flow had a greater impact on soil water movement in upper locations compared to the valley bottom. Soil infiltration capacity parameters and preferential flow were significantly correlated with soil properties like water content, porosity, root biomass, and termite holes.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Lin Chen, Jiri Simunck, Scott A. Bradford, Hoori Ajami, Menberu B. Meles
Summary: Considering the interaction between surface and subsurface is crucial for predicting water movement and quality in the environment. In this study, a new efficient coupling routine for 1D surface-subsurface modeling was developed by combining KINEROS2 (K2) and HYDRUS-1D (H1D) open-source codes. The approach successfully accounted for surface ponding and water exchange between the two model domains, allowing for accurate representation of subsurface behavior below each overland flow plane.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
H. B. Xiao, K. Xu, Y. M. Zhan, J. Wang, Z. Wang, L. Wang, Z. H. Shi
Summary: The hydrological connectivity of hillslope-riparian-stream (HRS) continuums is crucial for runoff generation and solute transport. This study analyzed the HRS connectivity by monitoring two HRS continuums with different soil depths and slopes, and studied the influence of rainfall on HRS connectivity. The results showed that the HRS continuum with a thin soil depth and steep slope had a larger contribution to runoff during the early stage of rainstorm, and the required time decreased as rainfall intensity increased. During heavy rainfall events, the HRS continuum with a thick soil depth and gentle slope had a higher connectivity strength. Rainfall amount, rainfall intensity, and rainfall duration were important factors affecting connectivity strength.
Article
Environmental Sciences
M. Levent Kavvas, Tongbi Tu, Ali Ercan, Z. Q. Chen
Summary: Subsurface flow plays a critical role in the hydrological cycle, controlling the quantity and timing of surface runoff and groundwater flow. Studies have shown that the geometry of the bedrock surface influences subsurface stormflow (SSSF), consisting of matrix flow and macropore flow components. By developing governing equations and conducting numerical simulations, the research aims to understand the dynamic interactions between these components and establish a promising modeling framework for SSSF.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kun He, Hakan Tanyas, Ling Chang, Xiewen Hu, Gang Luo, Luigi Lombardo
Summary: Spatiotemporal patterns of earth surface deformation are influenced by a combination of various factors, including geology, topography, seismic activity, human activities, meteorology, and climate conditions. This study proposes a multivariate model dedicated to InSAR-derived deformation data, aiming to explore these influences and make predictions on deformation. The obtained results are promising and have the potential to open up new research opportunities for slope instability modeling.
REMOTE SENSING OF ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mark Ranjram, James R. Craig
Summary: A surrogate model, the hsB Proxy, was developed in this study to closely emulate the drainage response of various wedge-shaped hillslopes to recharge time series at a lower computational cost while maintaining accuracy. The Proxy can be applied to simulate the overall response of single hillslopes and hill slope networks, and is expected to assist future investigations into upscaling issues related to subsurface storage and outflow.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Xiajiao Liu, Zhiyong Fu, Wei Zhang, Shuangshuang Xiao, Hongsong Chen, Kelin Wang
Summary: In karst hillslopes, the soil-epikarst system plays a crucial role in the storage of soluble carbon and the occurrence of hydrological and biogeochemical processes. The study focuses on understanding the mechanism of soluble carbon loss through different runoff components in the soil-epikarst system and how it can be influenced by land use. Field experiments on various land uses showed that the critical zone structure and land use significantly affect the runoff and soluble carbon loss in the karst hillslopes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Minseok Kim, Till H. M. Volkmann, Yadi Wang, Antonio A. Meira Neto, Katarena Matos, Ciaran J. Harman, Peter A. Troch
Summary: This study presents the time-variable transit time distributions and StorAge Selection (SAS) functions for understanding the water transport dynamics at the hillslope scale. It reveals that older water is preferentially discharged than younger water, which can be explained by the relative importance of advective and diffusive water dynamics and the geomorphologic structure of the hillslopes.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Erwin Zehe, Ralf Loritz, Yaniv Edery, Brian Berkowitz
Summary: Patterns of distinct preferential pathways for fluid flow and solute transport are common in heterogeneous porous media. Simulations show that with an increase in the variance of the hydraulic conductivity field, stronger transversal concentration gradients emerge, leading to stronger macroscale self-organization of transport pathways. This phenomenon is related to the need for work to establish transversal concentration gradients in line with the second law of thermodynamics.
HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Dana Lapides, Anneliese Sytsma, Gina O'Neil, Dean Djokic, Mary Nichols, Sally Thompson
Summary: This study presents Arc Hydro tools to analyze the properties of hillslope curvature and its impact on peak flows. The results show that hillslope curvature can increase peak flow predictions by up to a factor of 3. This suggests that hillslope curvature plays an important role in hydrological processes on real landscapes.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Manuel E. Camacho, Carlos A. Faundez-Urbina, Aziz Amoozegar, Travis W. Gannon, Joshua L. Heitman, Ramon G. Leon
Summary: Turfgrass managers have suspected that runoff-independent movement of herbicides and fertilizers is partially responsible for uneven turfgrass quality in sloped areas. A study was conducted to track solute transport using bromide as a proxy of turfgrass soil inputs. The results demonstrate that subsurface lateral transport of solutes can be an important process for off-target movement of fertilizers and pesticides within soils and turfgrass systems in sloped urban and recreational landscapes.
Article
Ecology
D. N. Dralle, G. Rossi, P. Georgakakos, W. J. Hahm, D. M. Rempe, M. Blanchard, M. E. Power, W. E. Dietrich, S. M. Carlson
Summary: Water in rivers is delivered through the critical zone, which extends from the top of the vegetation canopy to the bottom of groundwater. The subsurface water storage capacity of the critical zone affects flow, temperature, and energetic regimes that are important for salmonids. Differences in geology and subsurface CZ structure lead to different hydrographs, temperature, and riparian regimes, impacting various aspects of salmonid life history. Understanding the link between salmonids and geology can help identify landscape features that influence their distributions at watershed scales.
Article
Water Resources
Jeffrey J. McDonnell, Chris Gabrielli, Ali Ameli, Jagath Ekanayake, Fabrizio Fenicia, Jim Freer, Chris Graham, Brian McGlynn, Uwe Morgenstern, Alain Pietroniro, Takahiro Sayama, Jan Seibert, Mike Stewart, Kellie Vache, Markus Weiler, Ross Woods
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
D. Demand, M. Weiler
Summary: Using a unique dataset and film flow model, this study analyzed infiltration events under different soil and land cover conditions. The results showed that film flow was able to predict wetting front velocity and flow parameters effectively, with gravity being the main driving force.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Water Resources
Amy Goodbrand, Axel Anderson, Kevin Devito, Uldis Silins
Summary: This study reassessed data from the Tri-Creeks Experimental Watershed in Alberta, Canada to investigate the effects of forest harvest on streamflow and the potential influence of teleconnections, summer precipitation, and watershed storage on runoff generation. The study found that the complexity of climate variability and interaction with watershed storage and continental summer-dominated precipitation can confound and mask the interpretation of harvest effects in paired-watershed studies.
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Arthur Gessler, Lukas Bachli, Elham Rouholahnejad Freund, Kerstin Treydte, Marcus Schaub, Matthias Haeni, Markus Weiler, Stefan Seeger, John Marshall, Christian Hug, Roman Zweifel, Frank Hagedorn, Andreas Rigling, Matthias Saurer, Katrin Meusburger
Summary: The study found that European beech mainly takes up water from the topsoil during the early stages of a drought, reduces water uptake as the drought progresses, and cannot compensate for the reduced topsoil water availability by additional uptake from deeper soil layers. After rewetting following a drought, beech can restore water uptake from the topsoil to pre-drought levels.
Article
Ecology
Sabrina Santos Pires, Barbara Herbstritt, Christine Stumpp, Markus Weiler, Michael Paul Stockinger
Summary: Water is essential for plant development, and understanding the plant-water relationship is crucial for ensuring food security and conserving ecosystems. Stable isotopes of water are widely used to study ecohydrological processes, such as root water uptake. However, obtaining water samples from plants for stable isotope analysis is laborious and challenging. In this study, the water-vapour equilibrium method was tested to determine stable water isotopes in different plant organs. The study found that cutting samples and equilibrating for 24 hours produced the most reliable isotope ratios. The results were consistent with current understanding of water isotopes in plants, demonstrating the feasibility of the chosen sample preparation method.
Article
Water Resources
Amelie Herzog, Kerstin Stahl, Veit Blauhut, Markus Weiler
Summary: The limited number of gauging stations hampers the understanding of the interaction between streamflow, groundwater, and water usage during drought. Non-commercial measurement devices can help overcome this lack of monitoring, but they need thorough testing. The Dreisam River in Germany provided a useful case study area for water quality and quantity monitoring.
HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Jan Weik, Jan Lask, Eckart Petig, Stefan Seeger, Nirvana Marting Vidaurre, Moritz Wagner, Markus Weiler, Enno Bahrs, Iris Lewandowski, Elisabeth Angenendt
Summary: Two major global challenges in agriculture are climate change and unbalanced nitrogen cycle. This study explores the potential of cultivating miscanthus as a solution, but found that it may have negative effects on nitrate leaching and crop rotation. It also discusses the economic and environmental impacts of miscanthus cultivation on farmers' income and environmental protection.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marit van Tiel, Markus Weiler, Daphne Freudiger, Greta Moretti, Irene Kohn, Kai Gerlinger, Kerstin Stahl
Summary: Droughts can cause extreme low flow in rivers, impacting negatively on their ecosystems. Melting snow and ice in mountain water towers can help alleviate the hydrological consequences of drought, but global warming threatens this cryosphere. A study on the European river Rhine basin shows that low flow situations worsen in future conditions due to increased meteorological drought and glacier ice melt contributions. These findings are important for adaptation planning and are relevant for other river basins.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joschka Geissler, Lars Rathmann, Markus Weiler
Summary: Snow variability in forested environments is challenging to model due to its interactions with the environment. To better understand and validate snow models, reliable observation data at similar scales is required. This study presents a new extensive dataset of daily snow variability in a sub-alpine forest, Switzerland, obtained through a dense sensor network, high-resolution LiDAR data, and manual measurements. Machine learning algorithms are used to identify four spatial clusters with similar snow depth dynamics. By combining these clusters with observed snow depth time series, daily high-resolution maps of snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) are derived. These products are the first to provide continuous spatio-temporal snow depth and SWE based on field data.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Andreas Haensler, Markus Weiler
Summary: Spatially explicit design storms are crucial for assessing flood risk and planning. This study presents a method to estimate these storms using statistically extended weather radar precipitation estimates. The results show that the spatial patterns of the design storms are more realistic in the weather-radar-based product, but the magnitude of the storms is generally lower. More research is needed to understand this discrepancy.
HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Anne Hartmann, Markus Weiler, Konrad Greinwald, Theresa Blume
Summary: Soil hydrologic processes play a crucial role in landscape evolution, but the representation of subsurface water flow paths in models is often inadequate due to a lack of observations. This study investigated the evolution of subsurface flow paths in a soil chronosequence in the Swiss Alps. It was found that soil properties and vegetation characteristics have significant effects on the evolution of flow paths.
HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Nils Hinrich Kaplan, Theresa Blume, Markus Weiler
Summary: Intermittent streams, which account for a significant portion of the total stream network, are expected to increase in occurrence due to climate change. This study analyzed the streamflow responses in intermittent streams in a mesoscale catchment with a temperate climate using an event-based approach. The findings highlight the importance of soil moisture as a predictor for streamflow intermittency, with variations depending on the geology of the catchment.
HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Water Resources
Ingo Haag, Julia Krumm, Dirk Aigner, Andreas Steinbrich, Markus Weiler
Summary: The distributed water balance model LARSIM has been improved by introducing an infiltration module to simulate infiltration excess, Horton Overland Flow (HOF), and pluvial floods due to intense rainfall. The introduced module has shown promising results in simulating intense rain events in different catchments, laying a foundation for future real-time forecasting of pluvial floods. However, uncertainties in radar-based rainfall estimation can cause disparities in discharge estimation, highlighting the need for further improvements in LARSIM and precipitation forecasting with weather radar.
HYDROLOGIE UND WASSERBEWIRTSCHAFTUNG
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Benjamin Gralher, Barbara Herbstritt, Markus Weiler
Summary: The DVE-LS method is used for obtaining stable isotope data in soils and bedrock, but there are contradictory suggestions regarding protocol details. This limits data comparability and quality, with specific sample container material and equilibration times significantly influencing the results.
HYDROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Jan Greiwe, Markus Weiler, Jens Lange
Summary: In this study, distinct diel patterns in high-frequency NO3- monitoring data were identified, with photoautotrophic NO3- assimilation being the dominant process contributing to diel variability. Other processes, such as nitrification, denitrification, and heterotrophic assimilation, also played a role in forming diel NO3- patterns. Seasonal trends showed variations in the importance of these processes throughout the year.